CALGARY—The son of a senior Calgary police officer is behind bars after the worst mass murder in the city’s history — a bloody night that saw the lives of five young people snuffed out in a sudden knife attack at a house party.

Matthew de Grood, a 22-year-old University of Calgary graduate and son of a 33-year veteran of the police force, was charged with five counts of first-degree murder Tuesday afternoon in connection with the death of four men and one woman, all in their twenties.

“This is the worst mass murder in Calgary's history. We have never seen five people killed by an individual at once scene. The scene was horrific,” said Calgary police chief Rick Hanson.

Hundreds gathered at the University of Calgary Tuesday to find solace in one another. Condolences poured out from municipal, provincial and federal politicians as the university proffered counselling services to its students. The block of Butler Cres. where the stabbings took place remained sealed off by police tape early Tuesday evening.

About 20 people were at a party at a house on Butler Cres. Monday night in honour of Bermuda Shorts Day — a 53-year-old tradition at the University of Calgary that commemorates the end of the term. Among them were Zackariah Rathwell and Josh Hunter, two members of a local band called Zackariah and the Prophets. They were 23 and 22 respectively, according to the Calgary Herald.

Three more people — whom the Calgary Herald has identified as Jordan Segura, Lawrence Hong and Kaiti Perras — were also at the party.

Zackariah Rathwell, 23, was part of a local band called Zackariah and the Prophets and an “esteemed first-year student” at the Alberta College of Art and Design.

All five would be stabbed and killed in the brutal and unexpected attack.

“Nothing at all would indicate that there was an event that occurred earlier that precipitated what happened,” said Hanson. “These were all good kids, there’s no question about that. They did nothing wrong and nothing they did contributed to what happened.”

The Alberta College of Art and Design issued a statement late Tuesday, saying Rathwell was an “esteemed first-year student” at the institution and expressing condolences. Messages of mourning also poured in on the band’s Facebook page.

The group had launched an EP just days before, posting a message to fans afterwards: “You guys made our EP release amazing! We love every one of you, let’s be friends.”

“I’m so upset that they're gone,” wrote band member Kyle Tenove in an email to the Toronto Star Tuesday.

Vanessa Ladouceur laid flowers near the crime scene Tuesday, having come to say goodbye to her two friends, the bandmates Zach and Josh.

“Zach was outrageously happy,” she said. “They were both goofballs.”

Josh Hunter was a drummer in Zackariah and the Prophets, which was fronted by Rathwell. "They were both goofballs,” said a friend.

Doug Jones, a 54-year-old whose house backs on to 11 Butler Cres., where the party was being held, said things were quiet last night. He said a few students lived in the house for “several years,” but most of the neighbourhood was older families. The party didn’t raise an eyebrow Monday night.

“By young people standards it was, to use the expression, it was pretty lame,” said Jones. “It was pretty laid back. It was more of a gathering than a party. There was no loud music, there was no one falling down drunk, there was no swearing, they moved the party inside at about nine o’clock and if you wouldn’t know there was people there you wouldn’t even know there was a party going on.”

Kaiti Perras was one of about 20 people at the house party in honour of Bermuda Shorts Day when tragedy struck.

While Jones and the rest of the neighbourhood slept, tragedy struck. The suspect arrived shortly after 1 a.m. Hanson said he came straight from work — a local grocery store — armed with what police have described as an “instrument.”

He was invited to the party earlier and was personally greeted by one of the people who lived in the house, said Hanson. Despite being armed already, the suspect is alleged to have picked up what police describe as a “large knife” from inside the house.

“We know that the attacks themselves happened shortly after his arrival at the party,” said Hanson, adding the attacker went after the victims one-by-one.

Jordan Segura was a University of Calgary religious studies student.

Someone who was at the party phoned 911. Officers who arrived found a terrifying scene — three people were found dead, two more clinging to life. They were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

A witness at the party pointed officers in the direction of the suspect and a canine unit pursued. After a struggle with the dog, in which police say he threw several punches and sustained bite wounds, de Grood was apprehended.

“At this point in time, we can’t say the exact, ‘Why,’ ” said Hanson. “Was there anything that precipitated the event?

“To the best of our knowledge right now, there’s nothing to indicate anything like that happened.”

De Grood grew up in the Calgary neighbourhood of Scenic Acres, according to a friend who attended elementary school and high school with de him. De Grood had completed a degree in psychology from the University of Calgary and, according to a post on a Facebook profile of the same name, was recently accepted to the school’s law program for the fall. He is listed as having ran in the 10-km race in last year’s Calgary marathon.

Lawrence Hong was a University of Calgary urban studies student.

De Grood’s most recent Facebook post was a song title from Megadeth, posted late Monday night: “Dread and the fugitive — the world needs a hero.”

The friend, who did not want to be identified, said de Grood was nice, if a bit shy in school. The pair knew each other through mutual friends.

“This has completely, completely shocked myself and everybody who knew Matt,” said the friend. Chief Hanson said there’s nothing to indicate the suspect had been drunk or had been using drugs.

Hanson said de Grood’s father, who the Calgary Herald has identified as Insp. Doug de Grood, is “devastated.”

“They are devastated and they feel so much pain for the families that were impacted by their son. They have been incredibly co-operative with this investigation — they have told the investigators everything and they are now feeling so much sorrow for the victims of those families,” said Hanson.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

University of Calgary students and staff get emotional during a memorial service on Tuesday night.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.